Strand joining device



Jan. 27,, 1953 c. A. FLOOD 2,626,393

STRAND JOINING DEVICE Filed A ril 4, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 a: 1/ 3 K v j @iiiziitii'jiiij I ZLI; 7 -""T I l g -fi darl A. Ihad 1 WI MM YW y Jan. 27, 1953 c. A. FLOOD 2,626,393

STRAND JOINING DEVICE Filed April 4, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,6 ,MM MM 9- 7 a??? n 7, 1953 c. A. FLOOD 2,626,393

STRAND JOINING DEVICE Filed April 4, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 fauewr ar A. Flaa Mn w zwfyfl Jan. 27, 1953 c. A. FLOOD STRAND JOINING DEVICE Filed April 4, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 j f ///W [ravezzsfor 0W; 2.2 62045 i I a 5 Jan. 27, 1953 Q FLOOD 2,626,393

STRAND JOINING DEVICE Filed April 4, 1952 i 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 fizz 0259502 6021.3 9 Z (00% Patented Jan. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE STRAND JOINING DEVICE Application April 4, 1952, Serial No. 280,520

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in manually operated tools or devices for joining strands of string or the like, and particularly to a device for securing string loops to various articles, the loop being suitable for attaching a price ticket or identifying tag to the article, this being an improvement on the device disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 254,147, filed October 31, 1951. As disclosed in the aforesaid application a string loop may be secured to an article by passing one end of the string through the article, retaining the end which has thus been advanced through the article and bringing this end into engagement with another portion of the string beyond the edge of the ar ticle, and then joining the juxtaposed string portions with a clip which has been fed into position to be clinched about the juxtaposed strands.

Broadly, the objects of the present invention are to provide a device of simple construction by which the clip and strand feeding and joining operations are conveniently produced by one hand of the operator leaving the other hand free to manipulate the strand.

In one aspect the invention involves a tool for joining two juxtaposed portions of a strand with a clip, the tool comprising a frame holding a supply of clips, a device for clinching the arms of a clip around juxtaposed strand portions, a feeder for advancing the clips to the clinching device, mechanism for actuating the feeder and clinching device including a pair of levers or other members movably mounted on the frame and having shoulders disposed side by side and moving along adjacent paths which are substantially parallel, a hand lever or like actuator for driving the aforesaid members, and an interposer device carried by the actuator and movable therewith into abutment with one of the shoulders on the members so as to connect the actuator operatively with one of the members, the interposer device being adjustable between two operative conditions alternately to abut one shoulder or the other during alternate movements of the actuator, the interposer device being arranged so that while it is abutting one shoulder to drive the corresponding member the interposer device also engages the other shoulder to control the aforesaid adjustment of the device to its next operative condition, so that clip feeding and clinching operations are automatically performed by successive operations of the actuator.

In a more specific aspect the interposer device comprises an interposer movable between two conditions each of which one of said shoulders is 1 abutted, and a pair of cam slides operatively cammed by the shoulder which is not abutted by the interposer to urge the interposer from one position to another. Preferably resilient means are provided for interconnecting said slides and said interposer yieldingly to urge the interposer from one position to another. The interposer may comprise a pair of interposer slides each of which moves in and out of a path approaching one of the aforesaid shoulders respectively, or it may comprise a pivoted arm which swings between two paths approaching said shoulders.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of a tag attaching device;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an exploded isometric View of an interposer device;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3, parts being broken away;

Fig. 6 is asection like Fig. 5 showing the parts in one operative position;

Fig. 7 is a section On line ?1 of Fig. 5';

Fig. 8 is an isometric view of a ribbon of clips;

Fig. 9 is a View like Fig. 5 showing another operative position of the device;

Figs. 10 and 11 are sections like Fig. 7 showing the interposer device before and after the operation of Fig. 9;

Figs. 12 and 13 are side elevations of parts of the interposer device;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the part shown in Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is'a section on line l5-i5 of Fig. 16;

Fig. 16 is a section on line l6l6 of Fig. 15;

Fig. 1'7 is a section on line I 'lll' of Fig. 6, parts being omitted;

Figs. 18 to 20 are sections like Fig. 1'? showing various operative positions of the device;

Fig. 21 is a side elevation of a strand feeding needle;

Fig. 21a is a side elevation of a detail of the needle;

Fig. 22 is a plan view of the needle;

Fig. 23 is a plan view of a staple clinching anvil;

Fig. 24 is a plan view of a modified interposer device; I

Fig. 25 is a side elevation;

Fig. 26 is a section on line 26-46 of Fig. 25;

Figs. 27 to 32 show parts of the modification of Fig. 24;

Fig. ZI is a side elevation;

Fig. 28 is a plan View;

Fig. 29 is a side elevation;

Fig. 30 is a plan view Fig. 31 is a side elevation;

Fig. 32 is a plan view;

Fig. 33 is a side elevation of another modification of the interposer device, parts being shown in section; and

Figs. '34 and 35 are plan views of the modification of Fig. 33, parts beingshown in section.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in the drawings the attaching device comprises a frame I, a rack 2 carrying a needle 3, a clip feeding mechanism 6, a clinching and cutting die I, a hand lever 4 carrying an interposer device 5 for operating the rack, and clip feeding mechanism and clinching die and two magazines 8 and 9 respectively containing a supply of clips C and string S.

As shown in Fig. 8 the clips C are formed with complementary arms P and P and are joined by a lug portion L holding the clips in an elongate ribbon form. A shoulder H formed by an indentation in the underside of each clip forms a convenient abutment for feeding engagement of the clips. It is of course obvious that any form of clip having points or arms P may be used for securing the strands in a loop.

The frame I has two portions la and lb spaced apart at the top of the frame to form a slot ll. At the rear ends of the frame the frame portion la has a groove l4 for guiding the ribbon of clips C as it leaves the clip magazine 8. The groove l4 connects with a channel l6 formed by two insert pieces l2 and I3 respectively fitting in the frame portions la and lb. The forward ends of the inserts l2 and I3 are curved downwardly towards an anvil ll which cooperates with the die I to clinch the clips as will be explained hereafter. The string S is fed from within the magazine 9 through a notch IS in the frame portion lb into the channel IE to the forward ends of the frame. At the forward end of the frame the strand passes out through the slot ll formed by the spaced frame portions la and lb to the needle 3 (Fig. 9). As shown in Fig. 3, the section of strand in the channel l6 lies between the upturned arms P and P of the clips C.

The needle 3 and rack 2 are contained in the frame so as to slide between a retracted position shown in Fig. 5 and a forwardly advanced position shown in Fig. 6. Sliding movement is imparted to the rack by movement of the hand lever 4 transmitted through the interposer device 5, the lever 86, a curved rack 81, a gear wheel 89 and a segmental gear 90. As is shown in Fig. 6, the interposer device 5 may engage a shoulder 86a of the lever 86 swinging it about its pivot pin 9|. The curved rack 81 carried by the lever 86 meshes with the gear wheel 89. The gear wheel 89 and segmental gear 90 joined therewith rotate together on a pin 92, the segmental gear 90 meshing with the rack 2. A coiled spring 93 hooked at one end around a stop pin 94 engages in a slot 95 in the lever 86 urging the lever toward the normal position shown in Fig. 5 against the stop pin 94. The forward end of the needle is protected by a guard 29 when the needle is in retractedposition. When the needle is in forward position it advances beyond the guard as shown in Fig. (i to a position where the end of the string may be served through a fabric article or inserted through a portion of some other article. It is intended that after the string has been sewed or inserted through the article the end of the string will be gripped by the hand of the operator and the needle allowed to retract behind the guard. If a fabric article has been sewed the guard 29 prevents the fabric from being drawn along with the needle as it retracts into the frame.

As shown in detail in Figs. 21, 21a and 22 the needle 3 carried by the rack 2 comprises a thick portion 3a and a thin portion 312. A channel 2| extends interiorly of the needle from the thick portion 3a through the thin portion 3b. The thin portion 3b has a longitudinal slit 22 communicating with the channel 2|. At its end the needle has a pair of opposed lips 21 which overlie the channel H to a greater extent than slit 22. A spring finger 23 secured at one end to the thick needle portion 3a has a resilient tip 24 extending into the channel 2l through the slit 22. The spring finger has a flared end 24:: underlying the lips 21. Adjacent the juncture of the thick and thin portion the thick portion 31) has a transverse slot 26 which cuts through the internal channel 2l and communicates with the longitudinal slit 22. The needle is threaded by disposing the strand in the transverse slot 26 and then directing it along the longitudinal slot 22. Toward its ends the strand is then engaged under one of the lips 21 at the forward end of the needle. When the strand is drawn tight it will slide under the spring finger 24 and be clamped against the wall of the channel 2| by the flared end 24a of the spring finger. The concave configuration of the flared end 240 (Fig. 21a) prevents the strand from being displaced from under the finger 24. The spring finger has sufiicient tension such that when the needle is advanced the finger 24 will draw the strand from the magazine 9, but the tension does not prevent manually drawing the strand from its magazine.

The clip feeding mechanism shown in detail in Figs. 6, 15 and 16 comprises a bell crank 6, one arm 3| of which carries a pawl 32. The pawl 32 is pivotally mounted at 33 and has a finger 34 extending into the channel l6 formed by the insert pieces l2 and I3. A helical spring 36 yieldingly urges the finger 34 into the indentation forming the shoulder H of the clips C. Another arm 30 of the bell crank 6 carries a pin 35 which couples the arm 30 with an arm 96 of the lever 86. Thus when the hand lever 4 and interposer 5 swing lever 86 to advance the needle and rack the lever arm 96 rotates the bell crank clockwise (Fig. 6). When the bell crank 6 is rotated clockwise as shown in Fig. 6 (counterclockwise as shown in Fig. 15) the finger 34 ratchets back into engagement with the forward shoulder H of one of the clips C of the ribbon. Thereafter when the bell crank is allowed to rotate (counterclockwise as shown in Fig. 15) the ribbon will be advanced the length of one clip, the foremost clip being advanced from the channel formed by the inserts l2 and I3 to a position next to the anvil ll as shown in Fig. 5. Because the foremost clip is connected to the ribbon by the lug L it will be held in clinching position by the finger 34 engaging the ribbon.

The strand S, before or after being sewn through a piece of fabric F, may also be inserted through a tag or price ticket T (Figs. 2 and 9). The strand portions between the tip of the needle 3 and the portion at the end of the strand are then manually laid inside the die 1. As shown in Figs. 5 and 17 the die 1 has a curved clinching wall 31, and adjacent the clinching wall a strand spacing ridge 38 adapted to hold the juxtaposed portions of the strand spaced from the clinching wall 31 so that the points of the arms P and P will not catch the strand while being clinched. The die I is part of an elongate plunger 39 sliding between the two frame portions la and lb. The rear end of the plunger 39 is pivotally attached at 4| to a toggle member 42. The toggle member 42 is connected with a second toggle member 43 pivotally attached to the frame by a pin 9l. The toggle member 43 is normally held against the stop pin 94 by a coiled spring 91 like coiled spring 93. As shown in Fig. 9 the toggle formed by members 42 and 43 may be straightened by movement of the hand lever 4 causing the selector device 5 to engage lever 43 at its shoulder 43a. When the toggle 42 and 43 is straightened the. plunger 39 is urged rearwardly carrying the clinching face 31 of the die 1 against the anvil ll. v The anvil l comprises the forward face of a sliding block 48 shown in detail in Fig. 23. The rear portion 49 of the block 48 is guided in a space 5| (FigsQSand 17) formed by the frame members [a and lb. The rear block portion 49 has an internal chamber 52 for guiding a helical spring 53 which is compressed between the forward wall 54 of the chamber 52 and a plate 56 which bears against an abutment 5'! formed by the frame "portion lb. Forward movement of the block 48 is prevented by an abutment 58 formed by the frame portions la and lb (Fig. 5). The plate 56 forms a flange on a knife member 59 which extends alongside the die carrying block 48 and terminates in a putting portion I'll adjacent the die face 46.

As the die I is urged rearwardly by toggle members 42 and 43 the clinching wall 37 cooperates with the anvil face 46 to turn the arms P and P around the juxtaposed portions of the strand S. Thereafter, as the die is urged further the spring 53 yields allowing the block 48 to move rearwardly with the die 1. The anvil face 46 then passes rearwardly of the cutting edge ll] of the knife carrying the lug portion L of the clip and juxtaposed portions of the strand past the knife and shearing theclip from the ribbon and the clipped strand portions from the strand. The steps of the clinchingand cutting operations are illustrated in Figs. 18 to 20. In Fig. 18 the foremost clip C is in position against the anvil face 46, and the two strands S of the string loop are engaged in the die I. As the die 1 moves to the intermediate position shown in Fig. 19 the points P and P are turned around the strands S by the clinching wall 31, and thereafter force is transmitted from the clinching wall through the clip and strands 3'! t the anvil face '46. On further movement of the die 1 the anvil retracts rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 20 and the clinching wall 31, the anvil, the clinched clip, and the strands S are carried past the edge I!) of the knife. During this movement the knife edge It] and the clinching wall 31 interact to shear the lug L of the clipand the portions of the strands S'which extend beyond the clinching wall 31 through the plane of the cutting edge Ill.

According to the present invention the toothed lever 86 and toggle '43 are disposed side by side and coaxially pivoted on the pivot pin 9| so that the shoulders 86a and 43a are closely adjacent and move along parallelpaths,'and'thehand lever 4 actuates the toothed lever '86 and the toggle lever 43 as the resultof alternate abutment of the shoulder 85a and shoulder 43a'by the interposer device on successive actuations of the hand lever. The shoulders also control the interposer device a's follows. The interposer device 5 of Figs. 5 to '7, and -9 "to 14 comprises a casing Gil attached to the handlever4, a pair of interposer slides 6| and 62 and a pair of eam slides 63 and 64 slidably confined in the "casing. The cam slides '53 and *64 are urged forwardly in the casing respectively by helical springs 65 and 65 compressed between "aipin "m mounted transversely of the ca-s'in'g and upper flanges 61 and 68 extending laterally from cam slides 63 and 64 respectively. A second pair'of helical springs II and T2 are compressed respectively between lower fia'nges 13-0: the interposer slides and flanges I5 and 16 extending laterally of each of the interposer slides 6| and 52. The cam slide flanges 63 and 64 engage shoulders 11 of the in terposer slides BI and 62 and urge the respective interposer slides forwardly, while the compression springs H and 12 yieldingly urge the respective interposer slides rearwardly.

A shaft 89 mounted transversely of the casing 60 rotatively supports a hub carrying a pair of spaced cam arms 8| and 8 2. The cam arms are disposed at right angles to each other and spaced apart so that arm 81 swings into camming engagement with a cam face 83 on cam slide 6-], while arm 82 is swung out of engagement with a cam surface 84 on cam slide 64, and vice versa. Rotation of the hub 85 and arms "81 and 82 results in an intermittent sliding movement of the cam slides 63 and 64 as will be more fully explained.

The interposer device 5 is fixed in such a posi- "tion that the hand lever 4 when squeezed swings one of the interposer slides 64 or 62 and one of the cam arms 8] or 82 toward and into contact with the shoulder 86a .of the rack carrying lever 86, and the shoulder 43a of the toggle lever 43. The interposer slide 6| when in forward position and cam arm Bl when in horizontal position move on a path approaching the shoulder 86a, while the other interposer slide 82 and cam arm 82 when in like positions move on a path approaching the shoulder 43a. The terms horizontal and vertical are here used roughly to distinguish between the positions of cam arms BI and 82 respectively as shown in Fig. 4. The purpose of each interposer slide is to engage its respective shoulder and transmit the movement 'of the hand lever to the corresponding lever. Only one interposer slide is in forward position, and only one cam arm is in horizontal position atone time. The function of the cam arms is to move the interposer slides 6| and 62 alternately into and out of paths approaching the shoulders 86a and 43a respectively by camming the cam slides T3 and 64 which control the position of each interposer slide. Thus while one of the interposer slides is engaging shoulder 86a the cam arm will be engaged by the other shoulder 43a to determine or control the next position of the interposer slides.

The interposer device between successive actuations will be in the condition shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 7, with interposer slide Bl advanced andcam arm 82 horizontal, or in the condition shown in Figs. 4 and 10, with interposer slide 6'2 advanced and cam arm 8| horizontal.

Assuming the interposer device "to be in the 'first condition (Figs 3, 5 and?) when the han'd'lever 4 is squeezed the interposer slide 6| engages the shoulder 86a swinging the lever 86 toward the position shown in Fig. 6 so as to actuate the needle rack 2 and clip feeding crank -6 as previously described. As the hand lever is squeezed further the shoulder 43a is engaged by the cam arm 82. The force of the'coiled spring 91 is not overcome by the arm 82, and h'en'cethe arm 92 is swung causing the hub 85 to rotate and move cam arm 8| to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 6. The cam arm 8| thereby urges the cam slide 63 to the retracted position-shown'in Fig. 6 in which the spring "H is compressed urging the interposer slide 5| rearwardly. The slide-61 will not move owing to frictional engagement with the shoulder 85a, until the hand lever 4 is released. At the same time that cam arm 8| has cammed the slide63, arm 82 has swung out of the horizontal position in which it 'abutted 'the'cam surface 84-and held its cam slide 154 in rearward position allowing the cam slide urged by helical spring 06 and the interposer slide 62 to slide forwardly until the interposer slide abuts the side of shoulder 43a. Thereafter when the hand lever is allowed to return to the normal position shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the interposer slide 6| will be released and will slide to retracted position while interposer slide 62 slides to advanced position, as shown in Figs. 4 and 10.

On the next successive actuation of the hand lever 4, the forward interposer slide 62 will engage the shoulder 43:; of the toggle lever 43, as shown in Figs. 4 and 10, resulting in actuation of the toggle 42-43 and consequent operation of the clip clinching and cutting mechanism previously described. During the clinching operation the hub 85 and arms SI and 82 will be rotated from the position shown in Fig. 10 to the position shown in Fig. 11. Thereafter, when the hand lever 4 is released the selector device 5 will return to the starting condition shown in Fig. 7.

Another embodiment of the interposer device is shown in Figs. 24 to 32. In this embodiment the interposer member comprises a pivoted arm IOI mounted in casing I02 on a pivot pin I03 so that it may swing back and forth between the two positions as shown in Fig. 24. In the position shown in full lines the interposer arm is in a position to abut the shoulder 43a of lever 43 when the hand lever 4 is actuated. In the position shown in broken lines the interposer arm "II is in a position to abut the shoulder 86a of the clip feeding lever 86. Slidably mounted in the casing I02 are a pair of interposer slides I04 and I00. At their forward ends each of the slides I04 and I06 has a cam surface I01 adapted to be engaged by shoulders 43a and 86a respectively to move the cam slides between a forward position, occupied by slide I06 in Fig. 24, and a rear position, occupied by slide I04 in Fig. 24. The cam slides are operatively connected to the interposer arm IOI by an indexing member I05. The indexing memher is pivotally mounted on the pin I03 and carries a pair of ears I00 engaging in openings I09 of the cam slides respectively. The indexing member also carries a flexible wire finger I I I intended to engage in the socket I I2 in the interposer arm I0 I. When the cam slides I04 and I06 are moved to forward and rear positions respectively the indexing member because of engagement between the ears I08 and the openings I03 swings on its pivot so that the spring finger will be biased as shown in Fig. 26 and will tend to swing the interposer arm IOI to its alternate operative position. Either by frictional engagement of the interposer arm IOI with one of the shoulders (43a in Fig. 26) or by lateral engagement with the shoulder which it does not operate (86a in Fig. 26) the interposer will not shift to its alternate position until pressure on the hand lever 4 is released. A U-shaped spring II3 hooked around the pivot pin I03 frictionally engages grooves H4 in the cam slides respectively to hold the cam slides in their various adjusted positions.

The operation of the interposer device shown in Figs. 24 to 32 is as follows. With the interposer slide and the interposer arm in the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 24, when the hand lever 4 is actuated the interposer arm IOI will abut the shoulder 80a of the clip feeding lever swinging that lever upwardly and ratcheting the clip feeding mechanism 6. Shoulder 43a of the toggle lever 43 will engage the cam surface I0'I of the cam slide I04 camming it to the position shown in Fig. 24. When pressure on the hand lever 4 is then released the interposer lever will Swing from the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 24 to the position shown in solid lines. On the next actuation of the hand lever 4 the interposer arm IOI will engage shoulder 43a of the toggle lever 43, swing the toggle lever causing the clinching operation to be performed. At the same time shoulder 86a will cam slide I06 from the position shown in Fig. 24 to the position shown in Fig. 26. The indexing member I05 will swing the other cam slide I04 forwardly to a position under the shoulder 43 elevated by the interposer arm IOI. At the same time the spring finger III will be biased as shown in Fig. 26 so that when the hand lever 4 is released the interposer arm will swing to the starting position shown in broken lines in Fig. 24. If it is desired to perform a clinching operation without first performing a clip feeding operation slide I84 may be urged forwardly by manual pressure on the end of the cam slide extending rearwardly from the casing I02.

A further modification of the interposer device is shown in Figs. 33 to 35 in which the device comprises a casing H8 in which an interposer lever I I! is pivotally mounted on a pin I I8, a spring H9 urges the lever II! to the position shown in Fig. 34. The lever II! has an extension I2I outside the housing H6 for manual indexing of the interposer lever to the position shown in Fig. 35. The interposer lever II! is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 34 to prevent inadvertent actuation. of the clip feeding and needle advancing lever 86. Accidental operation of the hand lever 4 prior to a clip feeding actuation will merely result in movement of the clip clinching die which has no effect since there is no clip in position to be clinched. When it is desired to initiate a two-step clip feeding and clinching cycle the lever is swung to the position shown in Fig. 35 where it may engage the shoulder 85a of the clip feeding lever 88. As soon as the hand lever is thereafter actuated the lever III abuts the shoulder 86a and the extension I2I may be released allowing the lever I [1a to swing to a position urged by spring I I9 where it is stopped by the side 43aI of shoulder 43a. The shoulder 43a thus controls the lever III so that not until the hand lever 4 is released may the lever II'I return to its normal position in which it may engage shoulder 43a for a clip clinching operation. In operations where the needle 3 presents a hazard or where the accidental feeding of an excess clip may interfere with subsequent clinching operations the embodiment shown in Figs. 33 to 35 is preferred.

Thus the hand lever has an operating cycle of two successive movements during the first of which the selector device operates the needle advancing rack 2 and the clip feeding mechanism 6. Each of these actuations requires the use of only one hand, the hand which grips the tag attaching tool. The hand lever can be easily held in the actuated position shown in Fig. 6 thus holding the needle and strand advanced from the frame I. At the same time the operators other hand is free to manipulate the article which is to be tagged.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims. For instance the clip feeding and clinching mechanism may be replaced by any mechanism for joining the strand without departing from the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. For joining two juxtaposed strand portions with a clip, a tool comprising a frame for holding a supply of clips, means for clinching a clip about said strand portions, means for advancing a clip to said clinching means, mechanism for actuating said means including a pair of movable members carrying shoulders disposed side by side and moving along adjacent paths which are substantially parallel, an actuator for driving said members, and interposer means carried by said actuator and movable therewith into abutment with one of said shoulders operatively to connect said actuator with one of said members, said interposer means being adjustable between two operative conditions alternately to abut said shoulders respectively during alternate movements of the actuator, while abutting one shoulder said interposer means engaging the other shoulder to control the adjustment of the interposer means to the next operative condition, whereby successive clip feeding and clinching operations are automatically performed by successive operations of said actuator.

2. The tool according to claim 1 characterized in that said interposer means comprises an interposer movable between two positions in each of which it abuts one of said shoulders, and a pair of cam slides alternately cammed by the shoulder not abutted by the interposer to urge the interposer from one position to another.

3. The tool according to claim 2 characterized by resilient means interconnecting said slides and said interposer yieldingly to urge said interposer from one position to another.

4. The tool according to claim 3 further characterized in that said interposer comprises a pair of interposer slides each sliding in and out of a path approaching one of said shoulders.

5. The tool according to claim 1 further characterized in that said interposer comprises a pivoted arm swinging between paths approaching said shoulders,

6. For joining two juxtaposed strand portions with a clip, a tool comprising a frame for holding a supply of clips, means for clinchin a clip about said strand portions, means for advancing a clip to said clinching means, mechanism for actuating said mean including a pair of movable members carrying shoulders disposed side by side and moving along adjacent paths which are substantially parallel, an actuator for driving said members, and interposer means carried by said actuator and movable therewith into abutment with one of said shoulders operatively to connect said actuator with one of said members, said interposer means being adjustable between two operative conditions alternately to abut said shoulders respectively during alternate movements of the actuator, while abutting one shoulder said interposer means engaging the other shoulder to control the adjustment of the interposer means to the next operative condition, whereby successive clip feeding and clinching operations are automatically performed by successive operations of said actuator, said interposer means comprising a pivoted arm swinging between two parallel paths to select one of said shoulders for abutment.

7. The tool according to claim 6 characterized by resilient means yieldingly urging said arm from one path to the other.

CARL A. FLOOD.

No references cited. 

